Although string lights are used throughout the year in a variety of residential and commercial settings, perhaps the most prevalent time for installing and storing string light sets is during the end-of-the-year holiday season. Whether the lights are used on the exterior of a building structure or inside on a tree, lights are the one thing that truly makes the season magical. However, this magic quickly comes to an end when dealing with lights that were haphazardly stored after last season's use. First, the lights may have become broken from improper storage from the previous year. Second, if the lights are not broken, surely they are tangled, which requires time away from the festivities to untangle them. Finally, lights are typically stored in discrete coils, which make it difficult to locate and find the right set for the right spot. Then, at the conclusion of the holiday season, the lights are usually hastily taken down and improperly stored, ensuring that the above problems will be repeated again the following year.
The invention is a unique apparatus that aids in containing, storing, and dispensing strings of holiday lights. The invention takes the form of a wheeled base with a central, upright spindle. A reel on the spindle (capable of holding up to ten strings of lights) spins in either direction and allows the light stings to be stored or removed without putting a twist into the electrical cable. To remove the lights, they are simply pulled from the reel, which free-wheels to match the speed of dispensing. A round, tube-like cover is provided, which slides over the reel to protect the lights from breakage and dirt during storage. Finally, a handle is provided on the top of the reel, which extends through the cover and is used for not only turning the wheel when winding light strings back up, but for transporting the invention as well. The use of the light winding apparatus allows for the quick, easy, and efficient use of conventional electric Christmas lights during their application, retrieval, and storage cycles.
Several attempts have been made in the past to assist users in winding and storing light strings on a reel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,985, issued in the name of Winesett, discloses a Christmas light reel including a spool housing, a spool, a crank having a shaft passing through the spool and cord clips. The Winesett patent is not disposed to be a wheeled transport system and is not designed to store multiple strings of light as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,759, issued in the name of Simonson, teaches a Christmas light organizer including spaced apart panels with inner rods extending therebetween and outward of the panels. One of the inner rods has slots for retaining the prong of an electrical plug. Unfortunately, along with the Winesett design, there are no provisions for transporting and storing multiple light strings on a wheeled base, thereby allowing the user to maneuver the light string storage reel anywhere.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,518, issued in the name of Czerniak, describes a cord or wire holder for Christmas lights for fastening to an exterior location and as such, differs in scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,005, issued in the name of Hoogestraat, teaches a portable wire reel for electric fence wire that is carried on the shoulders of a person, a crank-operated spool, and a friction brake for preventing backlash of the reel during unwinding. The Hoogestraat patent suffers from the same shortcomings as the previously mentioned patents in that it does not provide a wheeled device that also stores the light strings.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,557,792 and 6,398,148, both issued in the name of Snow, disclose a device and method for storing holiday light strings with a vertically disposed rotatable spindle with a plurality of spaced-apart protrusions for preventing sagging of the wound light string. However, the Snow devices also are not disposed on a wheeled base for transportation and they do not teach a cover for the wound light strings on the reel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,401, issued in the name of O'Donnell, discloses a hand reel storage device for a holiday light string having a spool as well as devices to retain the light string on the reel. Unfortunately, the O'Donnell device has no provisions for a wheeled base for transporting the storage reel and, therefore, does not fall under the scope of the present invention.
Additionally, various patents have been issued based on an ornamental design for storage reels for light strings, notably D 339,976 issued in the name of Ferguson, Sr., and D 247,218 issued in the name of Barber.
None of the prior art particularly describes a portable device for winding, unwinding, and storing light strings—especially Christmas lights. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which decorative holiday lights can be stored, applied, and removed in a manner that eliminates the drawbacks associated with conventional storage.